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Friday, July 11, 2014

Syrian refugees, whose numbers are set topass 3 millionin the next few weeks, are almost all in Lebanon, Jordan and Turkey, with smaller numbers in Iraq and Egypt. But, as Reuters reports, that looks set to change: UNHCR chief spokeswoman Melissa Fleming exclaimed thatEurope must open its doors to more Syrian refugees, having welcomed only a "miniscule" number whileSyria's neighbors have reached "saturation point."

(Reuters) - Europe must open its doors to more Syrian refugees, having welcomed only a "miniscule" number while Syria's neighbors have reached "saturation point", the U.N. refugee agency UNHCR said on Friday.

Syrian refugees, whose numbers are set to pass 3 million in the next few weeks, are almost all in Lebanon, Jordan and Turkey, with smaller numbers in Iraq and Egypt. But that is changing, said UNHCR chief spokeswoman Melissa Fleming.

"The trend is obvious now, they're moving beyond the neighboring countries. The neighboring countries have reached saturation point. And many Syrians are now seeking refuge in Europe and we're asking Europe to do more."

In more than 3 years of war, very few Syrians have made it to continental Europe. There have been 123,600 asylum requests, mostly in Sweden and Germany, but that figure includes double counting, since some have asked for asylum in several countries.

"Relative to the 2.9 million refugees in the countries immediately surrounding Syria, these numbers are small, in fact they're miniscule. They represent only 4 percent of Syrian refugees," Fleming told a news briefing in Geneva.

"Just to put this into perspective, Europe has a population of 670 million people. Contrast that to Lebanon, which has a population of 4.4 million people and has received 1.1 million refugees."

Although the European Union (EU) has been a leading donor for the humanitarian aid effort in Syria, some countries on the continent have "terrible" conditions for receiving refugees. Somedetain them, and some - Bulgaria, Spain and Greece - have tried to reject them before they land.

Look at the places Muslims have been allowed to settle. How long till they want to impose their evil ideology Islam upon the citizens of the countries that took them in. Better to keep them out before you regret it.